The Ashen Crown is restored; the deed is done. The quest is no more. And Vega is without cause or direction yet again. He needs purpose…something to set his sights on and accomplish the task, to extinguish evil along the way so the means can justify the end. Given his most recent challenge and the danger the group encountered, Vega has contemplated about both protection and offensive capabilities of his equipment and how best to re-purpose anything he may have.

Vegakin has a rudimentary understanding of the art of crafting weapons and such. To wield one it is beneficial to know the ins and outs of how your tool of choice is made so as to gauge its quality when perusing a shops wares. After a few days of prayer, and helping the higher priests in the Temple of Tyr with rituals/funerals/sanctifying, he inquired his fellow martial members among the church where they have acquired some items within the city that were not already given from the Temple (its resources can be powerful, but quite limited). Many names were mentioned, some were contradicted and others were supported. Paladins from different walks and with different ideals would praise some shops, and scoff at others. But one name would always get approval, no matter the mouth it was uttered from. Aeche. (you would say it like the letter H) Nothing grand about the name, nothing in the title reveals what their craft even is, or even if is a vendor to begin with.

His curiosity piqued, Vega decided to swing by the district in which this word-of-mouth-renowned smithy/crafter was located. Just on the northern tip of the trade ward, right off Lamp Street, was the shop. Nothing fancy looking, just a simple sign out front with its name, and a single door that was propped open for ventilation. Vega ducked through the door into Aeche, and got his first gander at what was there. It had the typical smells and sounds you’d expect from a craftsman and smithy shop. While looking at the walls that had an array of weapons and armors in different styles, he could hear the craftsman hard at work at the forge.

There were weapons that he was very familiar with……and then others he was not. Their form seemed similar to what he was used to, but the style they were crafted and the overall shape was almost foreign. This smith liked to be creative with some pieces, it seemed. There were also just a few things that you could tell had some sort of…..aura to them. Vega suspected they were magical in nature, but had no way of really knowing. It was more or less a hunch. When he turned to finally talk to the smithy, he had just turned from his forge to pound some metal away on his anvil, and there Vegakin stood quite stunned. The smithy was not at all who he had at least assumed it could have been (dwarf was the on his mind). In fact, it was very far from it. The smith removed his goggles, which appeared quite custom, rubbed sweat off his brow and looked up…way up…at Vega.

“You just going to stand there gawking, or can I help you with something?” the little rock gnome said.

We need to go to the guard HQ in the castle ward and meet with Cpt Kaylaes

Cpt Kayleas wants to support the Word Bearers to bring back a more non-barbaric goblin tribe. From there waterdeep would hop to open trade routes to Icewind Dale with the help of these freindly goblins. Currently the northern trade routes are very dangerous.

The group is required by oath to find all the pieces to the Ashen crown and give them to the goblins in order to help them create their tribe including Ashurta’s Blade.

Vegakin Dawncaller Katho-Oliano & Eesha Narset do not take the Oath to the guards of Waterdeep not allowing themselves to put anything above their on religious oaths. However, they still agree to participate on the Quest outside of the waterdeep Oath.

The Group meets w/ proffesor Gyd at the university studying Ushurta’s blade

The Elves are interested in the Ashen crown & it’s link to Elven history. They explain that the ashen crown was originally a elven artifact from the Dekani Empire until the goblins added a 6th piece to the set (Ashurta’s Blade). The entire set consists of the following peices.

Perucs Circlet

Asurta’s Blade

Zervanis Solitaire

Mukerak’s Orb

Letan’s Cord

Later the next day Eesha Narset recieves a letter from Gyd saying she no longer trusts Lady Dane, linking her to somone named Demise and “Why the Skullborn?” a extremeist Elven sect known for necromancy. Gyd plans on leaving town but wants to give our group her notes and Ashurta’s blade. Gyd asks the group to come over to her apartment later that night before she leaves town.

when the group arrives the door is to Gyd’s apartment is open. The team enters to find Lady Dane as some sort of undead creature. Dane says that Gyd has been obducted and begins to fight us.
*We defeat Dane who appeared to be possesing someone else’s body so she is likely not dead. We collect Gyd notes and Ashurta’s blade and hop on a boat heading north to Luskin.

We land in the town of Luskin and purchase a Donkey with a kart and head north into the spine of the world.

As the group travels Kurxu takes the lead scouting and runs into a group from the Skullborn that are questioning and torturing a Goblin on the road. THings get heated and they engage in combat. The group fights them and ends up defeating them.

After Vegakin Dawncaller Katho-Oliano lays-on hands to bring the goblin back from the brink of death and some prying we find out he is a scout of the Word Bearers, on a mission heading south. His name is Govaan. he gives us his silver necklace to hopefully let us show we are allied with the Word bearers if we run into them.

The party continues down the road and runs into a pack of highway looters, amoungst them is a big scary Minotaur. They ask for a road toll of 200gp to let us pass. We refuse and FIGHT!!!!!

After the fight we loot them & their camp getting some good gear, and move on. The end of the session has us looking over the Looming Statues of the 6 Kings the land o the goblin tribes.

After speaking with Olaakki and meeting with Professor Gydd Nephret, the team learns that the Ashen Crown is an artifact used to unite the goblin clans of ancient times in the Dhakaani region, along the Spine of the World mountains. These are the mountains that separate Icewind Dale from the rest of Faerun. The crown itself could be split into many parts, each held power and each was in possession of a great gobin champion. It is now just a legend that Olaakki uses to teach his flock…unless Ashurta’s blade(being a piece of the crown) is the real deal…
Gydd allows Vega to crash at her place for the evening so that she may examine the journal of the Kech Volaar and Ashurtas blade. She sees no indication that they are fake so she sends word to her colleague to set up a meeting. They will go through an authentication process and then summon the rest of the team to assess what to do next. Vega is given possession of the blade for safe keeping since the meeting will not occur for a few days yet.

The party enters a room with a couldron shaped like a hand at the center, it is filled with bubbling blood.

There are 4 doors in the room & 2 coffins that Eesha thinks are trapped.

Eesha preferes not the disturb the coffins.

Eesha uses her nose and smells the door that has the strongers Kuthrik smell, when they open the door the other 3 doors open and a Armored Hob goblin ghoul walks out from each door. The Couldron srapys blood all over the room and voices rumbles, saying we must prove ourselves.

We fight the goblin ghouls, the fight is tough but the team is able to defeat them

The team then recovers and moves on. The next room the team assumes it must be Ashurta’s tomb. There are statues in all 4 corners of hob goblin warriors, a sarcophogus. In the middle of the room there is a statue of saluting Goblin warriors and it says to pay homage to Ashurta and be judged.

Eesha pays homage the Ashurta by cutting her hand, dripping blood at the sarcophogus steps and stating they have proven their honor by defeating the ghoul warriors in the previous room

Amnon does the same, but lets Eesha do the talking

This is not enough for Ashurta, and because they entire party did not pay homage, they will all be punished.

The Hob goblin warrior statues in the corners awaken, and the Remains of Ashurta rise from the Sarcouphagus to fight the team.

This angers Eesha, having not defiled the tomb and paid her homage. She errupts with thunderous rage of Vulkar (blessing the team) and everyone begins fighting the tomb guardians.

the fight is very hard, but the team is able to defeat Ashurta and his warriors, Eesha almost dies in the battle

The team loots the room, Finds the Blade of Ashurta (which is given to Vegakin) a Tident of Fish Command (Given to Kurxu), a Nice + 2 Dagger (Given to Amnon) & A wand of … I forget.. given to Teddy.

Behind the sarcouphagus is a hole which leads down in the the Kuthrik hive that fills the sub level of the tomb.

After covering the hole with the coffin remains and a long rest the team starts a fire down the hole to smoke/burn the bugs out.

After some time the team sends teddy down (since he can hold his breath the longest) into the smokey hive with a roped tied to him.

Teddy razes the rest of the hive with his magic and kills the hive queen with burning hands. In the hive he finds 2 items

Googles of Night which he gives to Eesha (Found on a recently killed hob goblin, assumed to be one of Olaaki’s followers)

Helm of Intimidation which is given to Amnon (Found on a long dead hob goblin warrior, assumed to be a tomb guard

The team returns to the Tain Foundry triumphant

The meet with Molare and receive the for 50 gold of their reward

The team visits Olaaki and recieves the other 50 gold. They also tell olaaki about the tomb and what they found.

Olaaki thinks Ashurta is linked to the Kech Volaar (a ground of goblines from Icewind Dale). He also says we should speak with Gydd Neph at the unversity, she may know more.

The team meets with Gydd and says the Blade of Ashurta is part of the Ashen Crown set (There is more to this but I can’t honestly remember it all STEVE could you post that section to ellaborate?)

Gydd also wants to have the sword we found inspected to see if it is genuine.

The next steps for the team, once the sword is confirmed legit is to possibly go to Ice wind dale and meet with the Kech Volaar, to possible determine what the significance of the ashen crown is.

Molare reports The Tain foundry is also becoming infested with Kuthrik

The group is hired for 100 gold to find out what happened to the missing goblinoids

To start Eesha & Amnon go to the university to find map and get info on the underground beneath the foundry

Amnon & Eesha find an old utility map and spend the morning making a copy of it

The team meets up around lunch and begins weaving their way to the bottom of the foundry, they pass through a pressure sealed door and into the Waterdeep sewer system

The Team wanders deeper & deeper into the sewer system.

After a while the team comes across a broken wall which gives way to a catacomb not found on the map. The team begins to explore the catacomb

At the catacomb enterance there is a pile of freshly used goblin arrows

Further inside the team comes across a hall with a pile of skulls in the middle. The walls are covered in images of hoblin heroes and on the floor is an old goblin warbanner.

THEKUTHRIKATTACK!! The team fends them off

THe team searches the room and finds a journal written by a member of the Kech Volaar (aka The Word Bearers). The Journal talks about Ashurta’s Tomb, The blade of Ashurta and how the goblins sought the blade. In addition there was a cryptic symbol etched in a piece of leather within the journal depicting a right hand and an arrow pointing down. Also a key was found in a rubble pile nearby.

A bit more description of Ashurta from the journal that they are a great hob goblin warrior, the Keep of the Blade of the Ashen Crown. A very badass person as “Hell Goes with him”. Ashurta as also the “Slayer of these weaklings”, hence the pile of skulls

The team uses the key to open the door continues exploring the tomb and they come to a room with panels on the floor depicting different words, the room also has a a fiend statue on one end and goblin hero statues on the other.

The floor panels are a puzzle and the team begins to piece togather clues to salve the riddle. 4 of the panels need to be depressed. Amnon, steps on the panel labeled “Hell” to see what happens.

After a bit more trial & error the team finds the code to be (Right Hand Down, like on the piece of journal leather, & open)

A secret passage opens behind the fiend statue but instead the team continues in down the normal door and will return to the secret passage later. They goal is still on the job they are getting paid for.

The Normal doored passage leads to a pit trap with a rolling boulder. The team struggles to get past but luckily very little blood is shred to get by it.

In the next room the team is confronted with 4 statues that appear to be radiating some sort of magical disipation fields. Its hard to interact with anything near the statues… like the Orge zombie and his zombie buddy’s who the team begins to fight.

_ WANTED:
A few brave adventurers willing to clean out a Kruthik infestation below the metal-works. For details, see Foreman Molric Torranol in the Tain Foundry._

The Tain Foundry is located among the warehouses set between the south end of the docks and the slums of the South ward. This is but a few blocks away from the tiny church in which the hobgoblin Priest Olaakki resides. According to Gydd, some of Olaakki’s followers have gone missing. There may be a connection between the two events. If so, this could be the prelude to a devastating pestilence in Waterdeep…

The Group all Meets in the Garden outside Morgrave University being summoned by Gydd the Master Study of Anthropology at the University.

Outside in the garden the group Meets Gydd and Introduces themselves“Teddy” Theodore Roosevelt: The Dwarven Captain with a knowledge in greater magicsAmnon Nowhere: The Quiet & Chubby Tiefling who seems to have interest in some sort of darker mysticismEesha Narset: The talktive over Eager Cleric from a small temple that almost nobody knows or cares aboutKurxu Black Hands: A skilled half-orc sword swinger with a short patienceVegakin Dawncaller Katho-Oliano: The incredibly tall outlander who dilligently follows the ways of Tyr.

Gydd has brought the group together to gather 6 of the Giant Corpse Flowers the reside on an old battlefield 4 days ride east of Waterdeep. Gydd needs the flowers to use as offerings at a Goblin Festival she and her collegues wish to study, and attempt not to become offerings themselves

The Team rents a Wagon and 2 Mules foe the trip nearly backrupting them all. luckily Amnon was able to coax a little gold out of Gydd to help with the rental expenses.

On the first night on the road the team is woken by a Rating digging through their stuff, and then a Kobold attempting to steal an item from the Ratling.

Kurxu quickly gets fed up with the antics and a very once sided kobold massacre begins. After the battle 1 kobold is spared (Rash) along with the ratling (Mud). The other corpses are burned off to the side of the road

Mud had with him, a Magic dagger with Draconic writing on it that he said he stole from a local merchant. Mud was told he would come with us and help with the expedition but would be brought to the merchant to return the dagger he stole. The Kobold Rash was told he would come with us and help dig up the corpse flowers to pay penance for the previous nights happenings and then be let go.

The team arrives at the Corpse Flower field and each flower is Guarded by a skeleton. they proceed to kill off enough skeletons to clear an area they can work, and dig up 7 Corpse flowers. Amnon wanted an extra flower for his own uses, which he never explained, making him seem suspicious… at least in Eesha’s eyes.

The next day the team took a path to the merchant whom Mud had stolen the dagger from. Upon arriving at his small tower, the team engaged is combat with a giant spider that was attacking the merchant shop named Bob & Marley’s. The team quickly dispatches the spider.

Bob greets the team and thanks them for saving his life & returning the dagger. In turn he gives everyone a deep discount on a handful of potions and scrolls. Bob also introduces the team to Marley, a large eagle that acts as Bobs bussiness partner and guard.

The team continues on their journey back to Waterdeep and along the path near a shrine they meet another Fellow traveler…. Sirocco. SIrocco is on his way back to Waterdeep, and seemed like a nice enough person so the team allowed him to tag along in the back of the wagon.

Later on down the road, about 1 days travel from Waterdeep a wolf appears on the road in front of the wagon.

“Where there’s 1 wolf, there’s 30. They walk in a single file line to hide their numbers”
- Teddy

The wolves ambush the wagon and the team begins fighting them back with Sirocco’s help

Teddy takes a big wound from the battle and is stabilized so he didn’t bleed out.

Once at the gates of Waterdeep Sirocco and the team part ways and the team proceeds to Morgrave Univeristy where Gydd meets them.

Gydd is very thankful for their help and pays everyone a small reward. In addition Gydd asks if they will visit a contact of hers.

Olaakki is a hob-goblin cleric down in the south warf of Waterdeep and Gydd says he is in need of our help.

The City of Splendor

Waterdeep, also known as the City of Splendors or the Crown of the North,4 was the most important and influential city in the North and perhaps in all Faerûn.5 For this reason it was considered part of the Western Heartlands of the Realms, even though it lay 150 miles north of Daggerford on the shores of the Sword Coast. The city sat “slightly above the 45 degree north latitude line on Toril.”6 The road to Waterdeep was well paved and well patrolled. The city was the hub of trading from the mineral-rich lands to the north, the merchant kingdoms of Amn and Calimshan to the south, the kingdoms of the Inner Sea to the east, and the sea kingdoms and traders to the west. Waterdeep’s authority extended between thirty to forty miles from its walls.78

Waterdeep was named for its outstanding natural deep water harbor, and the city that grew up at this site became the commercial crossroads of the northern Realms. More than 100,000 people made their home in Waterdeep. The city sprawled northward from the sea, spreading along the flanks of Mount Waterdeep, which used to be home to the Melairkyn, a mithral-mining dwarven clan,9 and the entire length and great depth of the mountain was riddled with passages and tunnels, most of which were occupied by deadly creatures whose presence in the mountain pre-dated the founding of the city itself. The halls of Undermountain located beneath the city were a popular target for adventurers,7 who enjoyed the close vicinity of the city’s main taverns and temples where aid could be purchased through donations.